It’s funny how 2 weeks can simultaneously feel like a lifetime and an instant. There aren’t enough words in the dictionary to describe how I have felt during this amazing opportunity, but I will try. I started off kind of apprehensively because I didn’t feel like I had a connection with anyone on the trip just yet and I wasn’t sure how our group dynamic would play itself out in a different country. The people on this trip are just so different from each other and what I thought would end badly has turned itself into arguably the best summer of my life. From deep conversations about religion, love, racism, poverty, etc. under the gazebo at our guesthouse to telling semi-scary stories around the campfire in Monze, we have definitely come a long way from the group that left you all at Dulles Int’l Airport on June 24th.
I can’t really pinpoint a ‘favorite’ moment of mine from the trip. I have met people at Chikumbuso, Chitukuko, Gladys’ girl group, Malambu, Africa Directions, Zambikes, and World Bicycle Relief that I will never forget and that have become as much a part of me as anything else I’ve experienced. However, a couple of moments have particularly touched me. I exchanged personally valuable beads with a rape survivor, received a letter from an ambitious 7th grader at the Malambu School, and taught in a dark classroom with no windows and barely enough space to move around. This blog entry is a personal one, but I’ve no doubt that everyone will come back with a certain memento or story that they would love to tell. Of course, it wasn’t all work and no play. We’ve had our share of fun things to do, e.g. getting soaked at Victoria Falls, animal-spotting on our safari, trying to dance, and finding things to do when the power goes out at our guesthouse. On the whole, I’d say that this trip was definitely mostly about learning and serving, as cliche as it may sound, but that we’ve turned it into more than what I think was expected of us.
We’ve eaten n’shima and danced with widows and (some of us) have gotten sick and I wouldn’t have it any other way. This trip was just the eye-opening getaway that I needed after finishing one chapter and before beginning a new one in my life. As I write this, it’s about 10:30pm on our last night and the thought of going home is just so bittersweet. I can’t wait to share my experiences with my family and friends, but on some level I wish I had one more day/week/month/year to spend in this beautiful country with all of its beautiful people. Zambia will always have a special place in my heart, as will the 16 other individuals that accompanied me on my first (and hopefully not last) trip to Africa.
Destiny F., Sidwell Friends School